Plans for Euro Garages new head office facilities have been approved and agreed by Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council.

Council leader, Councillor Mohammed Khan and Council Chief Executive Harry Catherall met with the company leadership to confirm the planning permission and further discuss the development which is set to create up to 150 new jobs.

The EG Group is one Europe’s leading petrol forecourt and convenience retailers. The company was ranked sixth in the Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 100 league table of Britain’s 100 private companies with the biggest sales and was the highest-ranked in the North West.

The company added £3bn in sales last year to £3.8bn, primarily as a result of its merger with European Forecourt Retail (EFR) last year to form EG Group with circa 1,450 locations across France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. In June this year, the group agreed to acquire another 1,176 service stations in Italy.

The acquisition in Italy represents the latest significant petrol forecourt asset acquisition by EG Group in line with its strategy to be Europe’s leading independent forecourt retailer. EG Group continues to review all strategic options to maximise value for shareholders and may include a potential initial public offering (IPO) consideration in the near future.

Councillor Khan thanked the company for their continued commitment to Blackburn with Darwen. He added: “It really is wonderful to see this local company doing so well. The owners are making sure that their home town benefits from their success and they continue to provide fantastic employment opportunities. We are proud to have them here.”

Harry Catherall, Chief Executive of Blackburn with Darwen Council expressed “Thanks to EG Group and other successful high profile businesses based in the town, we can see confidence building in the local area as place to do business. Part of our role at the Council is to help see that growth translate into improving services and quality of life for the people living and working in both Blackburn and Darwen.”

The new three storey office development is expected to be complete in summer 2018. It will be a water front location close to Fishmoor Reservoir. The construction build and fit-out style will be in keeping with the area. The current EG Group offices on Haslingden Road will then be used as a training and development centre.

Furthermore, management are considering options for two drive-through restaurants are being explored as part of the proposed development. Planning permission has been granted, the brand and type of restaurant is still to be agreed.

Road improvement works are a condition of the planning permission so as to avoid any traffic problems.

Zuber Issa, Co-CEO and Founder explained “We are pleased to secure planning permission for the new office space. As you can appreciate, a business our size and global standing is regularly advised to move to a major city; many times to London or Manchester, however, we are proud of our Lancashire heritage and to date have resisted such suggestions.”

“We see the advantages of being in Blackburn as it is our home, we like living in the town and we remain fully committed to having our main base here and seeing local people succeed along the phenomenal journey. We are also really looking forward to having something special in Blackburn to host international visitors.”

Ilyas Munshi, Group Commercial Director, EG Group said “When we first moved into the current offices six years ago we had a lot of spare room, however during this period our successful asset acquisition strategy and phenomenal business growth has now meant we’ve outgrown these facilities. Alongside our international growth, we are still investing significantly in the United Kingdom network so it is critical we have more office space.”

“The new facility development will be great, it’s just across the road and will really give a boost to our employees and visitors alike. For the leadership team it is important for us to host our people and guests, in modern facilities and afford excellent welfare for them to progress in our business and go away with a good impression of Lancashire life, respectively.”